


Promise

by parachim



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 07:18:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5038993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parachim/pseuds/parachim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haurchefant gifts the Warrior of Light an Ishgardian chocobo after defending Tataru in trial by combat and proposes that you two take the beast out beyond the city grounds so you can have some well-earned rest.  Second person reader insert fic, reader's gender ambiguous.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise

“Well, what do you think of him?” Haurchefant asked, petting a wing of the dark chocobo.

“He looks much hardier than any other chocobo I've seen,” you replied. “Very sharp eyes, too.”

“We breed them here in Ishgard, selecting the most suitable traits for the cold weather. The feet are a bit larger than those of your average chocobo—so they don't sink into the snow—and they even have more down to keep them insulated.”

“You don't have to do this, Haurchefant. I don't demand that my friends give me gifts.”

“No—but you _must_ accept this. As you have been Lady Tataru's champion at the trial and defended her from the court's cruel accusations I feel that giving you just one of our many chocobos is the least payment that you have earned. Besides, if the birds have no one to tend to them they become unhappy and impatient. Usually we don't have that problem, but this one came from a larger than expected clutch. If you would believe it, he was quite undersized upon hatching so the stablehands tended to ignore him in favor of the larger birds when they could get away with it.” Haurchefant's voice started to waver as he became more pleading. “I don't think he will be any more than you can handle, but this would make him a hard sell to any other noble family.”

The Warrior of Light thought for a moment, then nodded. “Aye, I understand. I would definitely prefer he not be slaughtered and turned into an over-sized drumstick by some overzealous culinarian.”

Haurchefant smiled, looking relieved. “Would you like to ride him right now? I can tell that he is eager for some real exercise.”

“If you insist. But isn't it generally frowned upon to ride chocobos in the city?”

“People don't generally do it, that's true... but as long as we head towards the city gate no one should protest. We're not disturbing the peace, after all.”

You shrugged and lifted yourself onto the bird, swinging your leg over his saddle. While you were getting used to how the animal felt below you, you saw Haurchefant grab something out of the corner of your eye, but you didn't watch him closely or think much of it. You're glad that Haurchefant insisted that you take the bird; even just standing still he seemed much more surefooted than any other mount you had ever ridden. Before you could instruct the beast to take a step forward, however, you felt Haurchefant climb on behind you.

“Is he able to carry us both?” you asked with surprise in your voice. The saddle was only just large enough to allow two riders to sit snugly together. You could feel the metal links of Haurchefant's armor rub against the plate on your back as he adjusted himself in the seat.

“Well, the saddle isn't made for this, but it's not too much for the chocobo either. Emmanellain and his friends took most of our other chocobos—including my usual mount—out on a hunting party earlier today,” Haurchefant said a bit sadly, making you wonder if he felt that he'd been left out. “My father's and Artoirel's are still there, of course, but I can't take them.”

You nod, not sure what else to do. The chocobo began walking along the stone road, hardly seeming to notice the people he was carrying. A few townsfolk stared at the pair, but not one made an effort to stop them. The chocobo, seeming to realize that for once he was actually going to go somewhere, grew excited and began speeding up nearly to a sprint.

An elezen messenger boy wearing a hat that was entirely too large for him gawked at the bird as he was walking and tripped over a cobblestone. For an instant you were worried that your eager beast would step on the child and crush him underfoot, preparing you to conjure up the strongest healing spells you knew in a panic. Thankfully, however, the chocobo leaped over the boy before any harm could befall him. Haurchefant's arms wrapped tightly around your waist to keep himself from falling off, though even long after the bird was back on solid ground Haurchefant continued to hold onto you.

Once you passed the city gates the chocobo seemed to be rather pleased to be outside as he ran past icy streams and hopped deftly from one snow covered rock to another. You had a hard time believing that the stablehands put so little faith into the creature, but you knew that treatment based off of initial judgments was not uncommon in Eorzea either.

“Go east a bit more,” Haurchefant told you. “I know a nice place where we can set up camp for the night.” 

You looked back at him skeptically and finally noticed the large pack on his back—this must be what he grabbed before you set out. For a moment you thought to object to this proposal but you quickly decided against it. Being the Warrior of Light made it an inescapable reality that there were always important tasks to attend to, but for the time being there was nothing _so_ pressing that you could not spare a single night with your friend.

Both of you dismounted when you reached a small snowy clearing dotted with trees. The clearing was partially surrounded by a small lake which was, miraculously, not entirely frozen over. You could neither see nor sense any signs of wicked beasts in the vicinity though you were not surprised as you were sure Haurchefant roamed these wilds since he was a young boy. He probably knew of all sorts of safe and hidden areas that hardly anyone else was aware of.

“Would you mind starting a fire while I set up the tent?” Haurchefant asked. “We don't have much daylight left and I know from experience how hard it is to find firewood when it's dark. One time I picked up a snake I believed to be a branch and—upon feeling it writhe in my grasp—flung it as far I as could in shock. I suppose that would have been fine if Emmanellain hadn't been who it landed on after. He was quite cross with me for a good while after that!”

You laughed as you imagined the usually dignified older brother so up in arms over touching a snake. You explored your surroundings and gathered up firewood dutifully, having no trouble finding branches in an area so lush with vegetation that a botanist would be envious.

There was a decently sized fire burning brightly as soon as Haurchefant had the tent pitched. It was small, but the canvas was weatherproof and he had ensured the stakes were firmly into the ground. You had had to spend nights in even humbler accommodations before on your adventures so this looked fairly inviting now that it was set up.

“I thought that you might be getting hungry,” Haurchefant said, holding up a rabbit. “I was able to catch it while you were working on the campfire. It isn't very much, but I thought that it would be better than nothing at all.”

You roasted the rabbit on a makeshift spit and sat side by side on a flat stone next to the fire as you ate. There was nothing but the crackling of the kindling and the sound of the wind until Haurchefant spoke up once more.

"I spent a lot of time outside as I was growing up. In part it was because my mother was so frail; she always encouraged me to get as much out of my life as I could since I was so hearty. But it was also largely due to how much Lady Fortemps disapproved of my presence in the house when guests were over. It's not that I really wanted to sit around in stuffy clothes and listen to socialites gossip, but still... it would have been nice to feel included."

You sat silently, unsure how to respond to this confession. Before the silence grew too uncomfortable Haurchefant spoke again. "My father has been far from neglectful, of course. Many a noble man would refuse to even acknowledge having seen their mistress' face when she comes crying to his doorstep with a newborn. But he never withheld anything from me nor my mother. I received a proper education in letters and arithmetic while many other bastard children went so hungry they couldn't even count how many days had passed since their last meal. If I wanted to I could have been a merchant—with my father providing me with all the start up capital I could ever need—but instead I chose to be a knight, so he made sure I was trained among the best. On the Feast of Saint Daniffen, he even makes sure that enough pastry fish are saved that I may have my share even though the lady of the house objects to letting me participate. But despite all this I have always known that father would never be able to put me on the same level as my trueborn brothers."You looked at him sympathetically and suddenly you realized how close you were to him. It would be hard to slip a blade in the space between your leg and his. You wondered if you had sat down like that or if Haurchefant had been getting closer to you throughout the night. Before you could question it any further, he leaned on you and whispered in your ear, "But even though you are always so busy, I never feel like your commitment to me is lacking. I hope that you don't find this request to be beyond what you are willing to do, but...” Haurchefant hesitated and cleared his throat. “...I would like to be able to fully consummate my love to you. Will you lay with me tonight and permit me that pleasure?"

Initially you had a hard time managing to respond at all. Not because you thought Haurchefant was acting unacceptable, but because you simply had not considered any sort of romantic relationship with anyone for quite some time. You had been so busy with all the issues surrounding your arrival to Ishgard that you could not even recall the last time you considered a single selfish want. 

"Yes, of course," you found yourself responding, suddenly very aware of a number of emotions that you had been repressing for a good while. Haurchefant smiled, showing his pure delight, and took you into the tent. It was small but still cozy enough for the two of you. There was only one bedroll covered in thick fur blankets but you did not think the limited sleeping space would be an issue tonight.

You sat down side by side on the blankets and Haurchefant kissed you gently on the forehead. He put a hand behind your head and kissed you again, this time on the lips, and bit your lower lip tenderly. You returned his kisses with some deal of eagerness. It really had been a while since you'd had time to daydream about such things and even longer since you had gotten a chance to even consider such opportunities.

You helped him out of his armor and he helped you out of yours in turn. He even took the care to fold your cloth garments neatly before placing them at the foot of the bed. You were slightly surprised when you reached his underwear, finding them to be black silk with a fur lining—you could even feel embroidered stitching on them though you could not see the design in the darkness—something so luxurious that you would expect it more of Emmanellain or even Count Edmont himself. Haurchefant blushed, apparently somewhat embarrassed at you discovering this secret. You quickly decided to reassure him by grabbing his ass firmly before loosening the lacing which kept them snug against his body, stripping him of his last garment.

Your eyes had now adjusted to the darkness inside the tent and you could see you partner's body in the moonlight. Haurchefant was not svelte like the elezen of Gridania, instead being much more muscular with a heftier appearance suitable of someone who lived in a much colder clime.

He pulled you down beside him and brought the blankets up to cover your bodies. Even though you knew it must be very cold outside the tent you felt very warm next to Haurchefant. He planted light kisses on your neck as he ran his hands down your back. You wrapped your arms around him and held his body against your own, savoring this warm embrace.

You could feel his erection rigidly stiff on your abdomen. You shifted yourself up and wrapped a leg around him so that your own genital was touching his. You rubbed against him fervently as he rocked his hips back into yours. Haurchefant moaned into your ear between the kisses he continued to lay on your neck and jaw. You wished that Haurchefant had proposed this to you long ago; being the Warrior of Light meant very few people saw you as a person capable of love rather than someone to call on when a problem arose.

You gripped the back of his head tightly and tugged on his hair, encouraging Haurchefant to press and grind against you even more vigorously than before. He surely had a great deal of stamina and if you insisted you could probably convince him to ignore sleep entirely for the night. You felt yourself reaching the tipping point; your other hand clawed into his back and as you finally climaxed your nails dug hard into his back. If he even noticed the pain it aroused him more than anything and he finished only seconds after you. You held one another tightly for a moment longer, sweaty and breathing heavily but completely content.

"You know," Haurchefant began, "when you didn't say anything immediately I thought you were going to reject me and take the chocobo back into the city alone as punishment for being so forward."

You shook your head, though it was hard to see the gesture in the dark. "I was surprised by your offer more than anything. Mostly my interactions with others consist of them telling me where I must go, what I must kill, or who to take some goods to. It's been a long time since I've been able to think about things that are... normal. But..." you hesitate, "because everyone expects so much from me I don't know how often I will even be around to make such relations. The Ascians don't give me days off for dates."

Haurchefant laughed. "I surely would not expect you to take me out to the Bismarck every night for a twelve course meal. But if we're in the same place at the same time and you're not too busy, say, keeping a primal from destroying everything nearby, maybe I could take you out to one of the secret hot springs around here. Or if you're sick of sleeping outside there's always my room in the manor... You might not believe this, but you wouldn't believe some of the racier books my father has stashed away in his library! A number of them are illustrated too, so perhaps we could flip through them to see if there are any new positions you would like to try out."

You chuckled and wondered if Emmanellain was really the eldest of Count Fortemps' children. "That sounds rather nice. Though... since I do live a rather dangerous life, if anything ever happens to me..."  
Haurchefant took your hands in his and clutched them tightly. "For as long as I am able to I will protect you to my last breath. Even if I were to fight an entire Garlean legion I would do it for your safety. It is the duty of a knight to protect," he insisted, and kissed the tips of each of your fingers.

You squeezed him in your arms, hoping that it would never come to that, but in your flight to Ishgard the mortality of your companions—and yourself—had become all too apparent. But for now you had someone who truly did care about you and you would do everything in your power to keep from squandering that. You fell asleep wrapped warmly in each others' arms, hoping you could keep the promise that neither would let the other come to harm.


End file.
